ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India sustains trend of consistently low Active Cases
Active Caseload below 8 lakh for the third day
National Positivity Rate sustained below 8% for 4th successive day
India has crossed another milestone in its fight against COVID-19. The national cumulative Positivity Rate has fallen under 8%. This trend has been sustained without a break for four days. The cumulative Positivity Rate is 7.94% now and is on a continuous decline.
This has been brought about by high level of comprehensive country-wide testing. The total tests have crossed 9.5 crores today.
As evidence has revealed, higher numbers of testing on a sustained basis have aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The decline in the cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being effectively contained.
Higher testing across wide regions leads to early identification of positive cases, prompt tracking through efficient surveillance and tracing, and timely & effective treatment in homes/facilities and in hospitals for the severe cases. These measures in tandem eventually lead to lower mortality rate.
The average Daily Positivity Rate is 6.13% for the third week of October. This is a result of successful TEST, TRACK, TRACE, TREAT and TECHNOLOGY strategy of the Central government effectively followed by States/UTs.
India continues to report a trend of steadily declining active cases. For the third day after the active cases dropped below the 8 lakh mark after a month and a half, the progressive decline continues.
India's active caseload stands at 7,72,055 today.
Presently the active cases comprise merely 10.23% of the total positive cases of the country.
The total recovered cases are more than 66 Lakhs  thereby enhancing the difference with respect to the active cases.
66,399 patients have recovered and discharged in the last 24 hours whereas the new confirmed cases stand at 55,722. The national Recovery Rate has progressed to 88.26%.
79% of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 States/UTs viz. Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. .
Maharashtra alone has contributed the maximum with more than 11,000 single day recovery followed by Kerala and Karnataka with more than 8,000 recoveries each.
55,722 new confirmed cases were recorded in last 24 hours.
81% of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs. Maharashtra continues to be the State reporting a very high number of new cases with more than 9,000 cases followed by Kerala and Karnataka with more than 7,000 cases each.
579 case fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours. After 90 days, the daily deaths recorded are below 600.
Of these, nearly 83% are concentrated in ten State/UTs.
More than 25% of new fatalities reported are from Maharashtra .
Ministry of Defence
Retired IAF officer donates 17 lakhs to school where late wife taught for 21 years
Wing Commander  JP Baduni is a veteran officer of the IAF. His wife, late Mrs Vidhu Baduni was a teacher in the Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute for a period of 21 Years from 1986. She expired on 06 Feb this year due to a cardiac arrest. In her memory her husband Wg Cdr  JP Baduni donated a sum of
Rs 17 Lakh to the school she had served as a devoted PRT.
“Part of the donation, Rs 10 Lakh, would be used for awarding scholarships and prizes to students of classes V to XI, achieving meritious excellence in the field of academics every year. The other part would go towards the infrastructure development of the primary wing of the school” said the principal Mrs Poonam S Rampal.
Earlier, during the sombre function at the school premises where the cheque was handed over, Wg Cdr  Baduni expressed that he would like to donate the sum of money to the institution where his beloved wife served and held very close to her heart. The money was exclusively from the savings of his late wife which she had accumulated over the years from the service rendered at the school. He also hoped that this would be a befitting homage to his late wife and would help the deserving students in their pursuance of excellence.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Bhutan on Cooperation in the areas of Environment
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan on Cooperation in the areas of Environment.
Details:
The Memorandum of Understanding will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between the two countries in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws and legal provisions in each country.
Keeping in view the bilateral interest of both sides and mutually agreed priorities, a Memorandum of Understanding covering the following areas of environment has been considered:
• Air;
• Waste;
• Chemical Management;
• Climate Change;
• Any other areas jointly decided upon.
This Memorandum of Understanding shall enter into force on the date of signature and shall continue to remain in force for a period of ten years. The Participants intend to encourage organizations, private companies, government institutions at all levels and research institutions on both sides to establish cooperation activities aimed at fulfilling the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding. The Participants also intend to hold Joint Working Group / bilateral meetings to review and analyze the progress of activities and shall keep their respective Ministries/Agencies, duly informed of progress and achievements.
Major Impact including Employment Generation Potential:
The Memorandum of Understanding shall facilitate exchange of experiences, best practices and technical knowhow through both public and private sectors and shall contribute to sustainable development. The Memorandum of Understanding provides the possibility for joint projects in areas of mutual interest. However, no significant employment generation is envisaged.
Expenditure:
The financial implications of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding are limited to holding of the bilateral meetings / Joint Working Group meetings which shall meet alternatively in India and Bhutan. The sending side shall bear the travel cost of their delegation while the receiving side is to meet the cost of organizing the meetings and other logistic arrangements. These are the limited financial implications of the proposed Memorandum of Understanding.
Background:
A Memorandum of Understanding  was signed between the Central Pollution Control Board , Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change  of the Government of the Republic of India and the National Environment Commission  of the Royal Government of Bhutan on 11th March, 2013. This MoU expired on 10th March, 2016. Noting the benefits of the earlier MoU, both sides have decided to continue cooperation and collaboration in the field of Environment.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
President of India presents Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2018 on International Women’s Day today
President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018, the highest civilian honour for women in India, at a special ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on International Women’s Day today. To acknowledge women's achievements, the Ministry of Women and Child Development confers Nari Shakti Puraskar on women and institutions in recognition of their relentless service towards the cause of women empowerment and social welfare. This year, 44 awardees have been selected for these Puraskar, out of around a thousand nominations received by the Ministry.
While making the selection from the nominations their contribution in empowering vulnerable and marginalized women was taken into account. Further, efforts were also made to include women who have contributed to spheres and issues which have gained utmost importance and focused attention in the last few years. This year, among the awardees are scientists, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, social workers, farmers, artists, masons, woman marine pilot, woman commando trainer, journalists and film-makers and many others, who have faced their own unique challenges, but have not been deterred from achieving their dreams. The awardees have contributed in their unique ways to the society, impacting lives of people and are role models and an inspirations to many others.
The Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said, “All the awardees are a face of change, reflecting the shift in the status of women in the country, from women development to women-led development. I congratulate all of them for their achievements. I would like to highlight that for these awards we received several nominations from all over the country across all the sectors. No field has been left untouched, where women have not left their indelible mark, making women the leading force of our development trajectory. I thank all concerned for sending nominations and letting us know about the remarkable work of women of our country. I appreciate the contribution of each one of them and hope that they will continue working for the cause of a better society.”
The Government of India believes that empowering women is empowering the nation. The Ministry of Women and Child Development reaffirms its commitment to empowering women by making them an integral part of the nation’s developmental journey. The Ministry salutes the exceptional strength of Nari Shakti Puraskar awardees, who are role models for generations to follow.
Click here for the details of awardees.
Ministry of Finance
Extension of date of Direct Tax payment in respect of third installment of advance tax for FY 2019-20
Considering the large-scale disruption of Internet Services in the North Eastern States-Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of powers conferred under clause  of sub-section  of section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, has decided to extend the last date for payment of December installment of Advance tax for FY 2019-20, from 15th December, 2019 to 31st December, 2019 in case of all the assesses, Corporate and other than Corporate, in the above mentioned States.
Ministry of Science & Technology
CSIR-CDRI’s candidate drug Umifenovir secures DCGI approval for Phase III Clinical Trial against COVID-19
Developed the process technology for Umifenovir in record time
CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute Lucknow, has received permission for carrying out Phase III randomised, Double blind, Placebo controlled trial of efficacy, safety and tolerability of antiviral drug Umifenovir. The Phase III Clinical Trials will be carried out at King George's Medical University , Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences  and ERA's Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow.
This drug has a good safety profile and acts by preventing entry of virus into human cells and also by priming the immune system. Umifenovir is mainly used for treatment of influenza and is available in China and Russia, and has recently come into prominence due to its potential use for Covid19 patients. To evaluate its efficacy in Indian patients, CSIR-CDRI has taken up the clinical trial. Further it has developed the process technology for Umifenovir in record time and licensed the economical process technology for manufacturing and marketing the drug to M/s. Medizest Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd. Goa, who have already received test license from DCGI.
Prof. Tapas Kundu, Director CSIR-CDRI, said that all the raw materials for the drug are indigenously available and if the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against COVID-19 and can be part of National Program against COVID-19. Prof. Kundu also added that this drug has the potential for prophylactic use.
Dr. Shekhar Mande, DG-CSIR highlighted that this clinical trial is an integral part of the CSIR strategy of repurposing drugs for Covid19 and complimented the team of scientists of CSIR-CDRINilanjanaMajumdar, Ajay Kumar Srivastava, Chandra Bhushan Tripathi and Nayan Ghosh, who were coordinated by Dr. Ravishankar Ramachandran, Nodal Scientist. The formulation and documentation team included P.R. Mishra, V. Bhosale, RK Tripathi & S. Sharma of CSIR-CDRI.
The clinical trial application was processed on high priority as per the DCGIs initiative against COVID-19. The next steps of the trial are being fast tracked to enable the availability of the drug to Indian patients as soon as possible.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
Cabinet approves budgetary support to Nepa Limited for the Revival and Mill Development Plan, payment of pending salary/wages, statutory dues, funding Voluntary Retirement Scheme and disinvestment of the company on RMDP completion
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for providing a financial package of Rs. 469.41 crore for the Revival and Mill Development Plan  of Nepa Limited, a public sector newsprint company located in Nepanagar, Madhya Pradesh.
Details:
This package includes:
- infusion of Rs.277 crore as equity in the company for the completion of RMDP which shall enhance production capacity to 1,00,000 MT per annum from the present capacity of 83,000 MT per annum, diversify production, improve quality of products and also help resume production at Nepa Ltd. The RMDP is expected to be completed within a year.
- A loan of Rs.101.58 crore has also been approved for the payment of salary, wages, etc. This will mitigate the hardship being faced by the Nepa Ltd. employees.
- A sum of Rs.90.83 crore was approved for the voluntary retirement scheme of 400 employees.
- The strategic disinvestment of NEPA Ltd. on completion of the RMDP at an appropriate time has also been approved.
- The completion of the RMDP will help Nepa Ltd. to command a better presence in the market besides supporting employment in the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh.
Background:
Nepa Ltd. is a pioneer newsprint company located in district Burhanpur, in Madhya Pradesh. This company was incorporated in 1947 and was the only newsprint manufacturing unit in India up to 1981. This public sector company is currently undergoing a revival and modernization plan that shall enhance production capacity and diversify its product portfolio.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Ms. Manmeet K Nanda given additional charge of MD & CEO of Invest India until a full time regular appointment
In the 32nd Board Meeting of Invest India on 20th March 2023, the Board appointed Ms. Manmeet K Nanda, IAS, West Bengal Cadre  as the Managing Director & CEO  of Invest India until a full time regular appointment. Ms. Nanda takes over after the resignation of Mr. Deepak Bagla.
The Board placed on record its appreciation to Mr. Deepak Bagla for his leadership and commitment in establishing Invest India. He has served the organization for nearly 8 years and contributed to Invest India’s development.
About Invest India
Created under the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a New India, Invest India today is well acknowledged by stakeholders for its tangible contributions and instrumental role in executing the Government’s flagship initiatives including Make in India, Startup India, National Single Window System, Project Monitoring Group, and Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council. Invest India leverages private sector expertise to execute Government’s vision, embodying high levels of transparency, ethics and corporate governance.
The inclusive and merit-based team has been acknowledged by stakeholders and investors for its professional approach, consistently delivering on assigned goals. The Team today is working closely with State Governments, Embassies and Ministries of the Government of India in efficiently supporting their global investment promotion and outreach efforts. The strength of the Invest India team is its sense of pride, quality of work and inclusive decision making. It is based on these parameters of excellence that Invest India has received the Great Place To Work© Certification - a rare achievement for any government funded organization.
Team’s nimble and swift action has even been recognized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development . This award, received thrice in a row, has commended Invest India for its excellence in partnering for investment promotion, promoting investment in sustainable development, and for best practices in COVID response.
The Board of Invest India is Chaired by Mr. Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Government of India. Other members of the Board include Mr. P. K. Tripathi, Secretary , Cabinet Secretariat, Ms. Arti Bhatnagar, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, DPIIT, Mr. Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairperson, Mahindra Group, Mr. Pankaj R. Patel, Chairperson, Cadilla Healthcare, Mr. Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairperson, Ambuja Neotia Group, Ms. Rekha R. Menon, Chairperson, NASSCOM; Chairperson & Sr. MD, Accenture, Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
Ministry of Science & Technology
The 9th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition  for INSPIRE Awards MANAK was inaugurated today at ITPO, New Delhi.
During the year 2020-21, a total of 6.53 Lakh ideas were received from all States and UT’s, from which 556 were selected for the exhibition
Top 60 among these innovations will be awarded on 16th September 2022
The 9th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition  of INSPIRE Awards – MANAK  was inaugurated at ITPO, Delhi, today, where the exhibits of 556 students from schools across the country were displayed.
Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Advisor, Department of Science and Technology , who inaugurated the exhibition, conducted a walkthrough of the exhibition and interacted with the students from all parts of the country who are exhibiting their innovations. The students explained their innovations and communicated their inherent merit to all visitors and jury members.
The innovations reflected a realization of national priorities like technologies for the differently abled, for cleanliness and sanitation, as well as local and day to day necessities like picking fruits and cutting onions without hurting the eyes. Few of them were digital technology-related innovations that could contribute the digital economy.
On this occasion, Dr. Namita Gupta, Head – INSPIRE Awards & Scientist G, DST; Dr. Vipin Kumar, Director, NIF; Dr. Sandeep Bansal, Scientist DST; States / UT and District officials, and Teachers were also present along with the students.
The exhibition is one of its kind because of the diversity of innovations and geographical balance it represents, It is being organized for two days i e.14-15 September 2022 and is now open for the public to visit.
The NLEPC is an important milestone under the annual INSPIRE Awards – MANAK , a flagship scheme jointly implemented by the Department of Science and Technology , Government of India, and the National Innovation Foundation  – India, an autonomous body of the DST.
During the year 2020-21, a total of 6.53 Lakh ideas and innovations were received from all States and UT’s of the country. The students who successfully make their way into the top 60 from this NLEPC will be conferred with an award by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon'ble Union Minister of State , Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, on 16th September 2022, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
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SNC/RR
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Ministry of Defence
Indian Coast Guard joins the nation to thank COVID-19 Warriors
Indian Coast Guard  stands in solidarity with efforts of the Government to prevent the spread of Coronavirus proactively by undertaking additional community interaction programmes about the precautions to be adopted to educate mariners, especially fishermen community, ports and other agencies. The ICG units have also been assisting the local administration in distribution of rations/food to the poor and migrant labourers in their respective areas. In addition, ICG has been in the forefront of Ministry of Defence  initiative to appreciate the efforts of COVID Warriors.
The ICG is also actively taking part in the ‘India Thanks COVID-19 Warriors’ initiative by illuminating ships and showering petals at hospitals treating Corona patients. Ships will appreciate the efforts of the COVID-19 Warriors by illuminating the ships on May 03, 2020 at 25 locations covering the entire coastline of the country including the remote sites and far flung island territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands. In addition, ICG helicopters will also shower petals on COVID-19 hospitals at five locations.
A total of 46 ICG ships and around 10 helicopters will take part in the initiative. The locations where the ICG ships and aircraft will take part are:
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Location
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Ship
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Helicopter
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01
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Porbandar
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Daman
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02
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Okha
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Mumbai
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03
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Ratnagiri
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Goa
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Dahanu
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Chennai
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05
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Murud
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Port Blair
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06
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Goa
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07
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New Mangalore
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08
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Kavratti
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09
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Tuticorin
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10
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Kanyakumari
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11
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Chennai
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12
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Krishnapatnam
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13
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Nizamapatnam
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14
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Puducherry
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15
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Kakinada
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16
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Paradip
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Gopalpur/Puri
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18
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SagarIsland
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19
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Port Blair
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20
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Diglipur
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21
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Mayabuundur
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22
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Hutbay
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23
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Campbell Bay
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The ICG ships and aircraft continue to maintain strict vigil at sea and remains committed to ensure safe and secure seas around the Indian subcontinent. It is also maintaining 24x7 electronic surveillance of our coasts through Coastal Surveillance Radar Network.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA
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